Someone Was There
by KatieShakespeare
Summary: I use to think that someone would've at least have been friends with Ender before he left. This is as though he weren't that close to Valentine and instead a girl named Maya. He also returns to Earth...it's kind of cheezy.
1. Chapter 1

Someone Was There

**So I use to think that at least someone would've been friends with Ender in school. Wouldn't you? This story is as though Ender wasn't that close with Valentien but instead a girl named Maya. He is also returning to Earth...This story is kind of cheezy.**

* * *

><p>Ender thought about everyone he'd be returning to. He couldn't even imagine what they looked like. Actually, he could. Of course he could. He could see his parents aged somewhat, but still young. How old were they? In their late thirties probably. That he couldn't remember. Valentine was eighteen now. She was bound to be the spitting image of Mother, a pretty girl the boys were after. Also she was Demosthenes, working for Peter. Peter was twenty, and from what they told him, was the political figure Locke, who was bringing the world together. He wasn't nervous to see his brother. They had both grown up so Ender wasn't scared of what Peter could do to him. He then thought of his friends that had returned to Earth, like Bean, Alai, Petra, Dink, and the rest. He would be happier to see them than his family. Then there was Maya.<p>

She was Ender's only friend from before he went to Battle School. He could picture exactly what she looked like now. Still short, curvier, long caramel colored hair, gorgeous smile, her big green-blue eyes would still fascinate him. Oh how Ender loved her eyes. They were big and the irises were blue but then had a splash of green over that so you couldn't say blue or green eyed, she was literally blue and green eyed. Ender smiled as he recollected all the memories him and Maya had. She wasn't that smart. Ender always had to help her with her schoolwork, but she was the artist of the two. She could draw pictures of Ender that were too amazing for a girl her age. She always wrote stories that she made up and they all kept Ender entertained.

Dark thoughts came into Ender's head. What if she doesn't care about me or if she's changed? What if she's not even there to greet me home?

"Ender," said Graff. "It's time to go."

"They all won't be there at the same time will they?" Ender asked.

"No, only your family will be there first and then you'll arrive to your parent's house where the rest of them will be."

Ender was feeling pensive. Mazer could tell.

"Don't worry Ender," said Mazer. "You only have to deal with them for one day and then you can live your life normally."

"Whatever that means," Ender replied. Mazer laughed and Ender faintly smiled.

They walked outside to a lonesome car with four people standing around it and nothing else around except for the house they had been in and some trees. Then, Ender saw his family again, and a part fo him did feel happy to his surprise. He had planned on just pretending to be happy for them but not feel anything. Though now he was glad to see them, people who loved him and that he was normal by having a family. Mother was hysterically crying, Father was clearly jubilant but not as crushing. Valentine hugged Ender and Peter and him only shook hands. Ender introduced Graff and Mazer to his family, and then they all hopped inside the car and drove to his parents' house.

* * *

><p>Petra was first to greet him when he arrived to the house. She hugged him tight. "It's about time," she said.<p>

They walked into the house and the next to meet him were Vlad and Dink, then they emerged into the backyard and he was greeted by everyone. Everyone - except for Maya. When he sat at the table on the patio he leaned next to Graff and whispered, "Where's Maya?"

"Maya? Oh, Maya Skylark." Graff whispered, "We told her you were coming, but..."

Ender felt sick. Why wouldn't she come? He wouldn't have minded if his family didn't greet him or even if a few of his friends, but this was Maya.

"Ender," Graff continued. "From what we know she hasn't changed much, and apparently she fainted when she found out you were coming back. You know her best. There should be a logical explanation why she wouldn't come."

And there was. She's either scared to see me, or my friends for that matter, or she's thinking the same thing as me, that I wouldn't want to see her, Ender thought to himself. Now what do I do? I can't believe how nervous I am just to see her, but I can't wait to see her.

* * *

><p>Maya Skylark sat at her desk in school and thought aimlessly about Ender. She had seen previous pictures of him, and everytime she saw them her heart fluttered. He doesn't want to see me, she thought. I'm just some little girl he use to play with. She groaned and put her head on her desk. Her classmates looked at her but weren't that weirded out since she always did weird things.<p>

"Maya," said her teacher.

Maya shot up. "Yes?" she asked.

"You're being signed out."

Maya grabbed her things and took the slip of paper that let her leave the school. She walked out of the buliding confused. Her mother never mentioned her having to be signed out today. What could it be? Hopefully I'm not in trouble...

"Are you Maya?" asked Dink Meeker standing right in front of her.

"Uh, yes, I am," she replied. What on Earth was Dink Meeker doing here?

He looked her up and down. "So you're friends with Ender, huh?"

"Well, I was, I don't know about now..."

"Come on," he said and they walked to a car. They sat in the back. "Ender was talking about you in his sleep. He has been for a few days. He seems pretty down lately, so I figured it had soemthing to do with you."

"Really? I figured he wouldn't want to see me." She suddenly looked down at her appearance. "I can't let him see me like this! I look like trash!"

Dink gave this Maya girl a weird look, but smiled. She's so unlike Ender, or me, or any other Battle School kid for that matter, he thought. I doubt she's like Earth people, too. I guess I can't judge on that. I'm not and earth person. He looked her up and down again. She's something nice to look at. Ender will be glad to see her. I wonder why he likes her... Duh. She's completely opposite of him. She's normal. She's...just what he needs.

"You look fine," Dink said. "Besides, you're not going to see him now. You'll see him soon. We're going over to Colonel Graff's new home where most of us are at. Ender should show up soon."

"What do you mean 'us?'" She gasped. "You mean all the Jeesh people and Battle School kids and all them?" She was so hysteric. "I'm going to meet them? What if they don't like me? What if they all think I'm stupid 'cause I am stupid and so then they influence Ender to forget about me and act like I'm nothing 'cause I am nothing and I get depressed and-"

"Maya, stop rambling. They're gonna like you," Dink said.

"No they're not." She put her head in her hands and cried. "Oh I'm too stupid for them to like me."

Dink sighed but smiled. "We're here."

"What?" she chirped. She wiped her face and fixed herself up, but she was far from composed. "Why can't he be here now?"

"They said you'd be like this, so we thought we'd give you some time to calm down."

"That's a stupid idea! Now I'm going to be sitting here nervous and when he comes I'll pass out."

She had a point. "Well, we're not sure when he's suppose exactly arrive. He's with his brother -"

"Ew, Peter use to pick on us all the time. The meanie - oh, goodness. Don't make me go in there."

"Calm down, nobody is going to judge you. Most have taken the time to sleep in anyway."

Maya walked in to the fine house to find only one man sitting on the couch with a girl who looked a little older than Maya. Colonel Hyrum Graff and Petra Arkanian. "Hi," she squeaked.

"Sit down, please," said Graff.

She sat down on the couch as far away from him as possible. Dink sat between them, setting her ill at ease.

"Ender has been in fits about you," Petra said.

"Or so we believe," said Graff. "We're not sure what's been upsetting him, but it's probably you."

"Why?" Maya asked pitifully.

"Well he misses you." Graff had never met a person like Maya. To simply state it, he had always been around rational people.

"Are you sure he does? What if he walks in and is surprised to see me but in a confused way?"

Petra and Dink exchanged looks. Dink shook his head and smiled.

"You want a drink of water?" Petra asked.

"Sure," Maya said.

"Follow me." Petra grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the kitchen.

To Maya's distress, other people were in there. She recognized them as Julian Delphiki, or Bean, she supposed, Fly Molo, Hot Soup, and Crazy Tom.

"This is Maya," Petra said.

"Oh, so this is the girl," Fly said.

Maya felt miserable, especially at being called a girl.

"Sit down," Petra said.

They both sat down.

"So how did you and Ender meet?" Fly asked?

"School," was all Maya said.

They all exchanged glances, feeling the same as Graff as never having met a person like Maya.

"How? Tell the story," Tom said.

"Well," Maya began. "On the first day of school, we gathered in a circle and had pieces of candy that were all different colors. They each represented a different question. Red was Who is all in your family and what are they like? So when Ender went he talked about his mother and then his father and then about Peter. The teacher cut him off there but then Ender went on to say that he had a sister, too. Only one kid knew that thirds weren't good, so he started to make fun of Ender, and everyone else joined in. I didn't. I was jealous of Ender. I didn't have any siblings, and there he had _two._ I sat with Ender at lunch and no one else ever did. Ender and I became best friends. We found out that we lived only a few blocks away from each other so sometimes we'd sneak out and sleep under the benches at the park that was a few blocks over because we didn't want to be home."

They all blinked. "So no one liked him at all?" Fly asked, finding this hard to believe.

"Nope."

Bean and Petra didn't find this as shocking. They didn't necessarily like Ender too much to begin with. Bean furrowed his brow. I might not have liked him at first but he eventually grew on me, Bean thought. There was probably some bigger kid that picked on Ender first, and so everyone else was too afraid to be kind to Ender. Then Bean knew that that accusation was true. "Stilson," said Bean, remembering the name from the trials Ender went through. "What did he do to you and Ender?"

"He picked on me more than Ender, but I never told Ender that and Stilson never picked on me much in front of Ender. Stilson was afraid of Ender, and he didn't know what Ender would do if he picked on me. I stood up for Ender all the time, but behind Ender's back. I confronted Stilson afterschool often. I'd always tell him that he was worthless and he was just jealous of Ender and that he should just go kill himself. I know it's harsh, but I hated how he could be mean to Ender. He always punched me, too. There was a time when I went too far and intimidated Stilson too much. That's when Ender and Stilson got in the fight that killed Stilson. I was there, but I didn't want Ender to see me and I knew he didn't want me to see him. He felt ashamed of what he did and he didn't even have to do what he did if I just kept my mouth shut. That's why I didn't want him to see me because I was ashamed. I really wish I didn't hide from him. It was the last time I saw him."

Bean stared hard at Maya. She had done the same thing Bean had done with Bonzo. "What'd you think of Ender when you saw him standing over Stilson?" Bean asked.

Maya lied her head down and said "I thought of him as a hero."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Graff walked into the kitchen ready to speak, but then saw Maya's face and looked down.

"What is it?" Maya asked.

"Well," began Graff. "It appears that Ender will be staying longer than expected with Peter."

"How long?" Petra asked.

"He said he doubts he'll be here tonight."

They looked at Maya. Now all I want to do is see him, she thought. I was suppose to and now I'm not. This is terrible.

"How about you stay here?" Petra said. She could see how distressed Maya was.

"Great idea," Fly said and they all concurred.

"Absolutely," Graff said. "We'll let your parents know, you can borrow clothes, and stay in one of the rooms."

"Come on," Petra said and grabbed her hand. She took her upstairs to a room that Ender had currently been staying in. Petra didn't plan on telling Maya that Ender had been using it, but Maya could tell based on some of the things around the room like the clothes and the books and papers.

"Has he ever talked about me?" Maya asked quietly.

"Not directly," Petra answered. "But he does in his sleep a lot." She gave her a sorry look. "Why don't you get some rest? You've had a rough day." Petra felt odd saying that. She had never said anything like that to somone before. She liked it, though. She felt...friendly and sisterly. "Here." She handed a shirt of Ender's to her. "I don't think he'd mind if you wore it. He'd probably prefer it."

Maya looked at the shirt and its size. He's gotten big, she thought. He's only sixteen. This shirt looks too large for a sixteen-year-old, but he's too smart for sixteen, too. Maya slipped off her dress and put on the shirt. It was practically like a dress on her short body. It had that Earthy musk to it that Ender naturally acquired way back when they were kids. She felt really comfortable and secure in it, like she was in his arms already.

"We were gonna make it a surprise," Petra said and sat down on the bed. Maya sat next to her. "We had planned on having you here and him coming in to find you. We weren't gonna be here when you two aquainted again. We knew Ender would feel - embarrassed in a way and wouldn't show all the joy he had for seeing you. You know how he can be." When Maya didn't say anything she said, "We won't be staying long either. We were just wanting to be with Ender for awhile, before we went our separate ways again. We'll still see him, but we wanted to have our last days with each other before we moved on and lived like normal people." She didn't sound enthused.

"You don't have to live like normal people," said Maya. "I'm not normal. I don't plan on living like everyone else in a cubicle. I just want to be a mom."

Petra slouched as she relaxed. "I wouldn't mind being a mother," she said. "You heard about Bean and I right? Achilles?"

Maya nodded.

"It's been over a year. I told him that if he ever wanted to have kids to come to me. He doesn't want kids because of his growing disease. Have you seen how big he's gotten? He's twice my size already. His body finally caught up with his brains."

Maya huddled closer to herself. "That's got to be scary," she said quietly. "To know that you're not going to live past twenty. I'm sure he can accept it, though."

"Of course he can, he's..." She laughed a little. "Weird."

Maya smiled lightly. "Weird is better than being the same. No one can define weird since everyone has different perspectives of what's weird and normal."

Petra looked at her. I wonder what it takes for a person to understand the things she understands, Petra thought. "I see why Ender loves you."

Maya blushed but couldn't help but smile. Then she stretched. "I think I'll hit the hay...I really wish I could sleep in hay. I use to when I went to my grandma's farm. It's so cozy. Ender came once, too. We fell asleep in a hay stack in the field." She spoke as she lied down and closed her eyes.

Petra smiled. "Keep talking," she said.

Maya was glad she said for her to keep talking. Maya and her mother talked every night in order for them to fall asleep. How will Mama get to sleep tonight? Maya thought. "It was a great, October night," continued Maya. "His parents had never met me, by the way. He would just say that he was staying the night at his friend Mike's place. He didn't tell his family about me because he wanted to keep me all to himself. I'm pretty sure his parents knew who I was and that Mike didn't exist, though. Anyway," She paused to yawn. "Ender hat met my family before. My mother loves him so much. She pictured him as her son, so did my dad. My grandparents and cousins all liked him, too. It's surprising because no one at school liked Ender. My family even knew he was a third. So we had a barbeque and I brought Ender along. We slept in a haystack and it was out of the city so all the stars were out. It was beautiful. One of our favorite memories. Ender was so relaxed there. He didn't have to worry about his family or the school kids. It's when I first realized I loved him..." Then she fell asleep.

Petra looked at her with a smile. I've known her for a few hours and I like her already. She stood up, planted a kiss on Maya's forehead, and she left. She suddenly couldn't wait until Ender came back and him and Maya reunited.

* * *

><p>Ender sat in the passenger seat as Peter drove in the black convertable down the dirt road. They were in Brazil and heading to the headquarters that Peter used. Ender said he'd return before five, now he doubt he'd visit within the month. Ender had decided to just help Peter, probably become president, do a little mingling.<p>

Peter looked at his brother. Then he rolled his eyes. "You've been on Earth less than two weeks and now you're already acting as dramatic as most people," Peter said to him. "Way to be a downer."

Ender gave a very small smile. Ender had decided that Peter had changed for the better. He was actually liking Peter and his smart-ass antics, probably because Ender had turned into a smart-ass teenager.

"It's just teenage angst. Everyone goes through it, but hurry up and finish your stupid phase."

They entered the building to find Dink sitting on a desk.

"How did you get here before us?" Peter asked.

"I don't use public planes. I have a private one. When I found Ender wasn't coming back, I flew here."

"Why?" asked Ender.

"Ender, why are you here?"

"I'm here to help Peter."

"Shut up." Dink came over to him. "You can help Peter from anywhere in the world. Why would you want to see Peter anyway? Look at him."

Peter gave him a look.

"Anyway, there are other people that you do need to see everyday."

"I don't need to see anyone to help anyone. You just said that."

"Yeah but I know for a fact that there are people you _want_ to see. Then not everyone even wants your help. There are certain people who want to help you, like me. I had to come here to help you. If I have to smack some sense into you then I will. I will beat you bloody, and I'm sure Peter will help me, too."

"So what do you need to help me with?"

"Ender, you're smart. You know I can sense when something is upsetting you."

Ender was silent.

"I payed Maya a visit," Dink said.

"How do you know about her?" Ender asked.

"You talk in your sleep. I asked Graff if he knew of a Maya you knew. She misses you."

Ender's jaw twitched, but he didn't say anything.

"Why don't you want to see her?"

"I do I-"

"Then why aren't you in her arms right now?" Dink was actually feeling angry. He had never seen such a sad face on a pretty girl like Maya. He had seen that face too many times on her.

Ender felt a sinking feeling go through him. He had been denying it adn shoving it out of his mind, but he couldn't anymore. Ender was scared, for multiple reasons. "I'm scared," Ender said.

Dink and Peter looked at each other. Ender defeated and entire alien species, and yet he was scared to see a girl. It made Peter feel better than Ender, but also brotherly since Peter knew what Ender was talking about. It made Dink feel like Ender was so much better than himself, and he admired Ender more.

"I'm scared to see Maya and have all the negative memories of my school life. I'm scared that I'll be with Maya but then in the end I"ll just make her regret ever spending her time with me. That I could break her heart. I'm also scared because I have no idea what I'm doing with anything. I don't know that I want to do. I've been at Battle School for more than half my life, basically all my life. I don't remember when I was one or two, and three even. Then when I was four I only ever saw my family. It wasn't until I was five that I met Maya and I started to become myself and feel comfortable with who I was, but then that was all taken away from me. I know I left, but if I didn't go then there would be no meaning in my life. I've already done what I was meant to do. Now what? I was born to kill and to strategize," his voice got softer. "Not to fall in love."

Peter got up close to him. "Ender," he said. "You might've been born to kill, but you were born human. Humans fall in love. You are in love with Maya. She loves you. When you're in love everyone is scared. You just have to be brave enough to take the risk."

Ender leaned against the wall and looked out the window as he soaked up his brother's words.

"You said you didn't know what you were gonna do. I'll tell you. You're going to get married to Maya. I'm going to be your best man. All your other little friends can be in it, too. It's gonna be outside, probably right here in Brazil, or where ever Maya prefers. You're going to buy Maya an expensive, beautiful dress. It's going to be a wonderful reception. You'll go to some small cottage all the way in Ireland that's secluded and surrounded by trees and a river. You'll but the land and live there. You'll have a bunch of kids, and they'll have kids, then you and Maya will die together happily. Got it?" He slapped his arm. "You're not gonna help me, at least not that much. You won't be president. You're retired."

Ender smirked. "I guess my reign's over and your's is beginning."

"It began before you knew it, little brother."

* * *

><p>"Hi," said Alai.<p>

Maya looked up. She had been staying in the house for two days. She had met everyone, except for Alai who had just arrived. She had heard that he was Ender's closest friend. "Hi," she said.

"Ender's still not here I see. The jerk." He sat down next to Maya. "Ender is a great person. He sort of lost himself when he got back to Earth. Battle School was a large part of him. It's gone, so now he's gotten confused. Well, he probably isn't confused. He's too smart for that. He just needs time." He looked at her. "Another large part of him was you. He never told anyone about you. He didn't want you and Battle School to combine. Battle School was ugly. You're pretty. Not a good match. Anyway, Ender said you name once in his sleep. I heard it. I don't think anyone else did. Somehow, I knew you were a friend that he loved. Not a sister o cousin or anything like that. There had always been something about Ender. It's like I could see that he was thinking about someone. When he whispered your name. I knew it was you. Now, you might be thinking I'm weird for springing this on you when we just met, but a friend of Ender's is a friend of mine. Also, it's fun to talk about Ender. It might be mean, but talking bad about him is so much funner than praising him. I mean, he is pretty great...still a jerk."

Maya smiled.

"I mean, he hasn't even come here yet, but we haven't told him you were here."

"Then how's he suppose to come back?"

"Oh, we have our ways. Strategy was a major tactic to aquire in Battle School."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Oh Mama," said Maya. "I miss him."

Maya finally returned to her parents, but she returned to the house everyday after school, mostly because Petra demanded that she did. She would stay the night on weekends as well. Petra had really grown attached to Maya.

"I know baby," said Mrs. Skylark. "I even miss him. He was such a sweetie." She stood up. "Well, try to have a nice day, okay? I know it's hard not to think about him."

"Bye," Maya said as she headed out the door.

Jeanine Skylark stood in the doorway as she watched her daughter walk down the street. Her husband stood next to her. She sighed. "Adam, I hate to see her sad."

"Me, too," replied her husband. "I'm her father and I even want her to see him. Fathers never want that."

They both looked at Maya who had her head hung low and a slow pace going about her. Maya was miserable.

When Maya arrived at school, she looked at her classmates. These were the same people that had made Ender dread going to school. Maya was the only one that made him eager to go. Suddenly, so much anger built inside of Maya. She just couldn't stand the way these people had treated Ender. Though if they hadn't treated him bad, then he might not have been the person he was and is, so he might not have defeated the buggers. She sighed. It wasn't fair. These people got away with being mean and in the end it saved them. Ender, you must feel as miserable as I do.

It was Friday. A week had gone by since when she was suppose to see Ender but instead saw all of his friends. Petra was standing outside with Alai and Bean. Maya approached them as though they were family. People around recognized them and wondered why three members of Ender's Jeesh would talk to Maya Skylark. Only a few would remember that she was best friends with Ender, and then they'd make the connection.

"How was your day?" Petra asked.

"The same as usual," Maya answered in a sad voice it hurt Petra to hear.

She grabbed Maya's hand. "Let's go."

Maya felt worse. She felt like a whiney, needy little child. So what if I don't see Ender? Just think of all the more unfortunate people in the world. Maya leaned her head against the window of the car.

"What's wrong?" Petra asked. "Of course it's Ender, but you suddenly look even more sad."

Maya only shrugged. Bean looked at Petra, who also had a sad look on her face. He hated seeing all these sad faces. Yet, he couldn't help admire Petra for how much she sincerely cared about Maya. She really would make a loving mother, he thought.

"We were gonna have a little picnic tomorrow," Petra told Maya once they arrived at the house. "All of us were gonna leave Sunday, so..."

"Where would we have the picnic?" Maya asked, but she didn't really care where it would be.

"Graff has this beautiful place that's really a few yards into the backyard. There are these gorgeous gardens with a stream and...it's just wonderful." Petra could tell Maya wasn't interested. She will be, though, Petra thought.

Petra walked downstairs and sat on the couch next to Bean. She always felt safe with him. He saved her from Achilles anyway, but he was still out there of course, plotting to the assassination of Bean. She worried about Bean, and got paranoid. She told herself not to considering Bean had enough paranoia going through him for the both of them. She looked up at him. "Why don't we get married?" she asked. She knew the reason. "Look at Maya. A girl like her is going to marry Ender, even if she doesn't think so. You know how Ender is. He seems like the boy who would never marry."

"What're you getting at?" Bean asked amused. He knew what she was trying to say.

"You're human enough to get married, you know?" Petra frowned. She decided to pull that sad, puppy-dog look that Maya naturally had. It looked real on Maya. To some it might've been real on Petra, but not to someone as observant as Bean.

He laughed. "Don't give me that look, Petra."

She smiled. "Do you love me?"

He stared down at her. "Yes, Petra."

"Then why won't you marry me?"

"I guess I don't love you that much." He snickered at her furious face.

"I know you're lying because you never guess at anything. Why?"

This time the puppy-dog face was real. Bean frowned but in a sympathetic way. "Because I know that you are determined to have kids if we're married," he stated in a soft voice.

She turned away, not liking what he was saying.

He pulled her close to him, and even though Petra was upset with him, she couldn't help but like it because all the other times she had cuddled up to him, now he was. Plus, just naturally as a teenager she liked it. "I don't want my kids to fall in love with a brilliant girl and then only have a few years with them."

She turned to dace him still in his embrace. "You know I won't stop pestering you right?" she asked.

He smiled. "I know." Then he kissed her.

* * *

><p>"Ender, you could be getting laid right now," Dink pointed out.<p>

Ender faced him. "That doesn't matter to me, Dink," he stated flatly.

"It doesn't now. Just wait till you see her." He sighed. "Of course, you could be seeing her now, looking into those crazy eyes as she's screa-"

"Dink," he interrupted. "I bought the ticket didn't I?"

"Yeah, for tomorrow."

"That was a rhetorical question."

"When you see her you're gonna regret not going sooner. You're lucky she didn't turn out to be ugly. God the things I would do to her. I-"

"Dink, you want to stop talking about m- her like that?"

"What was that? Were you just about say 'my?' 'My' what? What were you gonna say? 'My girlfriend?' is that it. No, you were gonna say 'my fiance.' I know you were."

Ender didn't answer. They sat in silence as Dink stared at Ender's profile. Ender sat in front of the ansible. Then Ender turned and said, "Fine. Let's go."

Dink smiled. "We can take my jet."

* * *

><p>Maya carried the blanket and couldn't help but feel some happiness in her. She had truly become friends with these people, Ender's Jeesh, Ender's friends. They found a nice spot under a few trees next to a lake. They had all brought swimwear and a lot of food. They were celebrating the rest of their lives. They would live on Earth like everyone else doing something that someone else was probably doing clear across the world. It was boring. They wished that they could all live together or at least near each other so then they could have picnics and go swimming and wouldn't have to worry about foreign trade or the economic problems of the country they ruled. They wanted the Battle School, but without the armies and battles. They wanted to be around the ones they were like.<p>

"All we need is Dink and Ender," Fly said.

"Don't forget Carn Carby," Alai said.

"There's always Rosen, too."

"Rose de Nose; Extraordinary Jewboy," Crazy Tom imitated.

They laughed. Maya only smiled.

Then, they started talking about Ender. They did this on purpose. They wanted Maya to feel lovesick. They spoke about all their favorite memories of Ender, when they first saw Ender, their thoughts about Ender. Maya was really feeling down during these conversations. She figured that they would talk about Ender because they loved him, but she kind of wished that they didn't.

Petra could see the depressed expression on Maya's face, and she was expecting it. As everyone else continued to talk about Ender like they had planned, Petra whispered to Maya, "I can tell you're upset." She squeezed Maya's hand.

"I'm okay," Maya lied.

"Wanna go for a walk?"

She nodded and they stood up. As they walked away, Petra turned and winked at them. Maya and Petra walked through a path of trees in the very beautiful backyard. It reminded her of Ender for some reason. Ender always did smell like the outdoors, thought Maya. Which is weird, since he didn't spend that much time outdoors, even though he liked playing outside. Then he's just as wonderful as this scenery. She sighed. I know I'll see him sometime. I just hope it's not too late. I don't want to be thirty-five married with grown kids when we finally see each other. I wonder if I could even find a man I could marry. can i even fall in love with someone else? I've pictured Ender returning every single day since he left and us getting married. I've held onto this memory for such a long time. I can't imagine myself doing anything else. I don't know what I'd do if it didn't happen.

"Petra?" Maya asked. She looked around for Petra but she wasn't anywhere in sight. She was too busy daydreaming that she didn't realize Petra went away. She continued to walk on anyway, just to have some time to herself. She sat down under a a cherry blossom . It was a little muddy in the back yard due to the air and soil. She had taken her shoes off a long while ago and dug her barefeet into the soft Earth. She shrugged off her cardigan so she was only in her white dress. When Maya was surrounded by nature she wanted to be as natural as possible without being naked. She never knew who was around. She tilted her head up and closed her eyes with a sigh. Ender, she thought, I'm sorry, but I think I've grown over not seeing you. I can move on now.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A cherry blossom fell on her face and she gently held it in her hands. She remebered the time when Ender and her had found a cherry tree when they were on an imaginative adventure through the rainforest (the grove of trees by Maya's house) and how they claimed it as their tree. Ender had taken a sharp rock and carved Ender + Maya Forever. Then they continued on as they watched the lions feast on a zebra (a squirrel eat at some type of nut). Maya had went to that tree often. She would recarve their names tons of times, and then she eventually carved Ender + Maya Forever ten more times, one for each year that had gone by. She then claimed all cherry trees as her's and Ender's. Whenever she was around them she felt cozy like she was right next to Ender. She looked up at the tree and stood up. She placed the cherry blossom in her hair and then climbed up the tree. She hadn't climbed in a tree in such a long time. In fact, the last time she did climb a tree was two days before Ender left. Unconsciously, she felt like she was going against Ender somehow if she was climbing a tree with someone else, or even by herself. She was letting go, though, so she decided to climb it. She climbed as high as she could, but that wasn't too far since she was too heavy for some branches.

She pulled the cherry blossom out from her hair and picked at the petals saying, "He loves me, he loves me not." It ended with a "he loves me." She pulled another blossom and did again. This one was a "he loves me," as well. She did it with two more blossoms and they were both "he loves me." Maya had always been somewhat obsessed with the number five. She was born on the fifth of the fifth month at five in the morning. She had five cousins. Then there were plenty more things that were with the number five. If the fifth flower is a "he loves me" then it's still true, she thought.

She picked the first petal. "He loves me." Then the second. "He loves me not." Third. "He loves me." Fourth. "He loves me not." Fifth. "He loves me." Sixth. "He loves me not." Maya frowned as she looked at the petalless flower.

"Well that's false."

Maya looked up and there she saw Ender, who had been in the tree all along.

He climbed down and sat on the branch she was on. He stared at her with his intense eyes. "How could it say I not love you? I love you so much, Maya."

She smiled and flung her arms around his neck, not caring that she could make a wrong move and fall off the tree, which she ended up doing. She took Ender down with her.

"Oh," Ender groaned as he hit the ground.

Maya had still been in his arms, so she didn't take the brunt of the hit. She laughed and slid up so they were face to face. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Better than I have been in years." He held her tighter and rolled over. He looked down at her and kissed her.

It was an awkward, sweet, wonderful first kiss for the both of them.

"Will you marry me?" Ender asked like it was the most natural thing.

Maya smiled. "Of course I will."

"Good. Peter was already calling in favors and getting it organized. If we didn't get married God knows what he'd do to me."

They laughed.

"You know when I arrived back on Earth I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I figured I'd just rule some part of the world. Now, all I wanna do is be with you. Let's have kids. A lot of them."

"Didn't you use to say we'd have eight?"

"Yep. I think ten is better, though."

They laughed again and kissed again.

Ender sighed. "When I was in Battle School, I had always planned on just coming home and getting married to you."

"Well now you are, and you can't take it back."

"You know I never would." He kissed her. "Now go make me a sandwich."

* * *

><p>Maya had fallen asleep lying against Ender. Ender couldn't sleep because of all the birds chirping. It was impossible for him to sleep with so much noise going on. He heard practically everything. He heard footsteps approach and looked to see Petra and Bean coming towards them. They smiled down at Ender and Missy.<p>

"We figured this was enough time for you," Bean said.

"We didn't want to walk in on you two getting it on, and who can go for more three hours, especially virgins like you?" Petra said.

"Don't worry about that, at least not after the wedding."

"Who's your best man?" Bean asked.

"Peter demanded that he will be." Ender shrugged. "You can be the - other man. When are you two getting married?"

Petra glared at Bean. "We're not," she stated flatly.

"That's too bad. You're human enough to fall in love Bean. You're just scared of what might happen, and that just makes your love bigger." Ender smiled to himself.

They didn't say anything.

Ender sat up and gently woke Maya up. "Come on, baby. Let's go get married."

* * *

><p>The wedding was exactly the way Peter said it would be. Ender had to admit, he knew how to plan a wedding. Everything was immaculate and Maya was especially pleased. Her parents were so glad to see Ender, her entire family was. He smiled from ear to ear as she walked up the aisle. She looked beautiful. Petra was her bridesmaid. Her cousins were the flower girl and ring bearer. Everything was white, other than the cherry blossoms. The whole world was watching as their savior got married to a sweet, little girl from North Carolina that only a handful of people had heard of.<p>

"I do," said Ender.

"I do," said Maya.

They kissed.

The reception was small with great food and entertainment.

"Now you get to live out the rest of your life the way you should," said Alai to Ender.

Ender smiled. "It'll be your turn next," he said.

"Nah, I bet it'll be Bean and Petra."

"They said they wouldn't get married."

"You know they will."

"I've been thinking," said Bean to Petra. "It might be possible that the disease could be reversed."

"In you?" Petra asked with an eager smile.

"No, I'm already born."

Petra took a minute to think about it. She smiled. "So in order for this to be reversed in someone, they can't be born yet?"

"Yes." Bean smiled down at her.

"Well, there's no one else with your disease ."

"Yet." He wrapped her arms around her. "Let's get married."

She smiled and kissed him. "It's about time you came around."

"Well thank Ender. You know how he is with words."

They both looked at their friend who was smiling exuberantly at his new wife. They kissed, and then the married-to-be couple did, too.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is the last chapter. It's supre cheezy, but hopefully touching as well. Also, it can get confusing with names :) Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

Maya Wiggin sat on the hospital bed with her husband, and her new born son, Andrew Wiggin Jr. "Oh, he's so beautiful," she cooed.

Ender sat next to his wife on the bed and stared down at the little, blue-eyed miracle. He had never felt so wonderful in his life. He had never seen anything more beautiful either. "He is beautiful," he said. He kissed his wife's head. "And so are you... Now it's time to start for another."

She laughed. "Ender, honey, I'm not even eighteen yet."

He looked down at her and said in a sultry voice, "Yeah, you sure aren't."

She laughed again. "You pig."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her onto his lap. "If we have another child, and it's a girl, what do you want to name her?"

She smiled. "June."

"What if she's not born in June?"

"She will be. I mean, if we get started now then she will be."

He laughed, and as he leaned in to kiss her he said, "Yet another reason why I love you."

* * *

><p>Teresa Wiggin whistled out the door. "Supper is ready!" she yelled.<p>

"Thank you again for cooking all of this, Teresa," said Graff.

"How often do you get all these people to feed?"

Andrew Wiggin Jr., June Wiggin, Petey Wiggin, Johnny P. Wiggin, Ender Delphiki, and Bella Delphiki all ran through the back door as fast as they could. They sat at the table with their parents, grandparents, family, and parents' friends in Uncle Graff's house.

"So what is it this time, Maya?" Shen asked.

"This time it's a girl," said Maya happily. She was far into the third trimester of her fifth pregnancy.

"What are you gonna name her?" asked Dink.

"Oh, probably Teresa," said Ender. "Mother would go into hysterics if it weren't."

"Better believe it," said Mother.

"How many kids are you having?" asked Mazer.

"Ten."

"Maybe," said Maya who gave a smiling glare at her husband.

"We can beat that," said Petra.

"Of course we can, we're better," said Bean.

"Better my ass," Ender said.

"Let's not fight, boys," Maya said.

"Yeah, let's move onto other subjects. How are your girlfriends Dink?" Petra asked.

"Better looking than you," he said.

"I can punch from across this table, you know?" Bean replied smiling.

Graff laughed. "Oh you kids, you kill me somtimes."

"Nonsense, if we were to kill you you'd be dead by now," Vlad said.

"Don't think that we don't _want_ to," Tom said. "You put us through some hell up there."

"But if i didn't then you'd all be simpletons who would see each other one day but act like you never knew each other."

"Mommy, I have to use the bafroom," said Bella.

"Come on, sweetie," said Petra. She looked at Maya and nodded for her to follow.

They walked to the bathroom and sat on the sink as Bella went.

"You know, I'm having twins," Maya said.

Petra grinned hugely. "Really?" she exclaimed.

Maya nodded. "I just got a call this afternoon. Ender doesn't know yet. It's two girls"

"What are you going to name the other one then?"

Maya smiled. "Petra, silly."

They laughed and hugged in a sisterly way.

"Twins?" asked Ender later when she told him.

"Yep, Petra and Teresa."

"I like it. If we have another boy it could be Alai, and if there's another one it could be Dink. If it's another girl it could be Valentine."

"I think I'd die if we had that many kids, dear."

"Nonsense. You're too perfect to die."

* * *

><p>Andrew Wiggin Jr., June Meeker, Peter Wiggin, John Paul Wiggin, Teresa Delphiki, Petra Delphiki, Alai Wiggin, Dink Wiggin, Julian Wiggin, and Valentine Meeker sat with their families as they mourned the loss of their parents.<p>

"At least they died doing what they loved," said Julian.

"What? Each other?" said Andrew.

The siblings laughed in a sad and nostalgic way. Their parents had recently died while flying to a friend's place in Brazil. The father was flying when the engine let out.

They gathered their things and went off with their families. Andrew Jr. smiled at his wife, Petra, who wasn't smiling. "They were going to see my mother," she said.

"Don't worry about it, they were really old as it was. They were bound to die sometime within the next ten or fifteen years."

She frowned, but then smiled at her beautiful daughter Mayella.

June Meeker carried her newborn son, Bram, and walked with her husband, Dink Jr. "I hope we die together," she said.

"Me, too. If you die first and I'm really old, I think I'll just go ahead and kill myself," said her husband.

"I'll do the same if you go first, and I hope you will."

Peter Wiggin walked with his wife Carlita as their two twin sons, Jaime and Erik, danced in circles before them.

"I hope we have a girl next," said Carlita.

"Then we can name her Maya, right?"

"Yes, dear." They kissed.

John Paul Wiggin and Bella Wiggin sat on a bench holding their kids, Johnny P. and Petra. "There sure are a lot of Petras in this family."

"It's a beautiful name," said Bella. "My mother's, your sister's, my sister's, and now our daughter's."

"Wouldn't want anything more in the world." They kissed.

Teresa Delphiki held hands with her husband Andrew. "I can't help but think what Mother is thinking. She's the last of the Jeesh," said Andrew as he thought of his mother.

"Who knows?" said Teresa. "She probably feels nostalgic."

Andrew smiled. "Come on Nikolai," he said to his son.

Petra Delphiki drove with her husband sitting next to her and her son Hyrum in the back seat.

"They were beautiful people," she said.

"They were, and I'm glad they left behind a beautiful daughter."

They kissed.

Alai Wiggin looked at his parents' conjoined grave with a sad smile. "They were great parents," said his new wife Samantha.

"They were." He smiled at her. "Let's call her May." He put his hand on his wife's pregnant belly.

"Perfect."

Dink Wiggin held hands with his fiance Lucy. "I wish they could've seen us get married," he said. "They would've loved the Japanese tradition."

"Your parents loved a lot of stuff," she said.

"They sure did love you."

Julian Wiggin pulled his girlfriend Kisa onto his lap. "Let's get married," he said.

"Really?" Kisa asked excitedly.

"Of course. It's about time I asked. I would really love some kids running around, too."

Valentine Wiggin and her girlfriend Janette walked together, hand in hand, through the cemetary. "I'm gonna miss them."

"Me, too," said Janette. "They were really great."

"Yeah, they were."

A nice, summer breeze blew through the air and all the beautiful families looked up. They all felt closer, and safe, as though the wind were a message from the wonderful man that saved all of Earth, and the one he loved most in the world.


End file.
